Researchers have leveraged the latest advances in RNA technology and machine learning methods to develop a gene panel test that allows for highly accurate diagnosis of the most common types of liposarcoma.
It is claimed that the test quickly and reliably distinguishes benign lipomas from liposarcomas and can be performed in laboratories at a lower cost than current “gold standard” tests. The new NanoString assay is described in The Journal
of Molecular Diagnosis. Lead investigator Torsten Owen Nielsen said: “Many liposarcomas look like their benign and relatively common counterparts, lipomas. Diagnostic delay and uncertainty cause severe stress for patients, and misdiagnosis can have many consequences including delayed or inadequate treatment or unnecessary surgical procedures and long-term postoperative follow up.”
The retrospective and prospective cases probed by the NanoString assay had a 93% success rate and agreed with standard tests 97.8% of the time.
